Controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has questioned why no government official has visited Boko Haram terrorists and bandits to negotiate an end to their violence, the way past Nigerian leaders engaged Niger Delta militants.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Gumi recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo both visited militants in the Niger Delta creeks and returned with programmes aimed at ending militancy in the region.
“The former President Jonathan visited Delta militants in the creeks, so also the former Vice President Osinbajo. They all came up with a program to tame the militants,” he wrote.
He then asked who would be willing to extend similar engagement to Boko Haram and bandits without facing public criticism.
“Who is going to visit BH and bandits to tame them without fools castigating them?” he asked.
Gumi, who has consistently advocated dialogue with armed groups in the North-West and North-East, has previously visited bandit camps in Zamfara and other states, arguing that negotiation rather than military force offers a better chance of ending the violence.
The cleric has repeatedly denied supporting terrorism, insisting his advocacy is solely aimed at ending the bloodshed through dialogue and rehabilitation.
